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Former House Speaker Paul Ryan to teach about U.S. government, political polarization at Notre Dame

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announces he will not run for reelection in 2018 but will serve out his term during a press conference in the US Capitol in Washington on April 11, 2018. Ryan said that he was proud of his accomplishments but he wanted to be able to spend more time with his wife and teenage children. SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) responds to a question from the news media during a press conference about the upcoming spending bill vote in the Capitol in Washington on March 22, 2018. The house was planning to vote on the 1.3 trillion US dollars, 2,232-page 'omnibus' spending bill today so the Senate could take it up before a possible government shutdown. SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (C) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (L) listen to remarks during the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for the Office of Strategic Services in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington on March 21, 2018. Leaders of the US House and Senate presented a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) for their historic contributions during World War II. SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE

Paul Ryan holds up a pint of Guinness as he proposes a toast during the Friends of Ireland luncheon at the United States Capitol March 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. . The Taoiseach is visiting as part of the traditional St. Patrick's Day celebrations. POOL PHOTO BY ALEX EDELMAN

Paul Ryan, joined at left by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., meets with reporters following a GOP strategy session, at the Capitol in Washington, March 14, 2018. With the Democrat edging past the Republican in the Pennsylvania special election in a Trump-heavy district, Ryan fielded questions on whether it was a wake-up call for the November midterms. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, AP

Paul Ryan responds to a question from the news media during a press conference on military readiness and spending in the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Feb. 8, 2018. The Senate will vote today on a two year budget deal, that will then go to the House for their up or down vote with a government shutdown in the balance. SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE

The signatures of Paul Ryan and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, foreground can be seen as Ryan, left, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, second from left, congratulate each other after signing the final version of the GOP tax bill during an enrollment ceremony at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 21, 2017. ANDREW HARNIK, AP

Paul Ryan along with other House Republicans, speaks about the GOP tax overhaul in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington on Nov. 2, 2017. The plan seeks up to six trillion dollars in tax cuts over 10 years. JIM LO SCALZO, EPA-EFE

Paul Ryan uses a monitor to give a presentation on a Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with the American Health Care Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2017. MICHAEL REYNOLDS, EPA

Ryan walks past a bank of television cameras on his way to a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and members of the House at the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2017. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Ryan and Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, talk while Alaska recounts their votes during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 19, 2016. Carolyn Kaster, AP

Ryan signs legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to cut off federal funding of Planned Parenthood during an enrollment ceremony in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2016. Getty Images

Within hours of the new Congress being gaveled into session, Ryan goes before the House Rules Committee as Republicans move forward with plans to advance legislation approving the embattled Keystone XL oil pipeline on Jan. 7, 2015, on Capitol Hill. J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Ryan holds a copy of President Obama's fiscal 2014 budget proposal book as he questions Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Capitol Hill on April 12, 2013, as Sebelius testified before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the HHS fiscal 2014 budget request. J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan will teach at the University of Notre Dame next school year, the school announced Monday.

Ryan, the Janesville Republican, will be a guest lecturer on "the fundamentals of American government, the current state of political polarization." He'll also teach topics including Catholicism and economics.

“As an Irish Catholic from the Midwest, the University of Notre Dame has always held a special place in my heart,” Ryan said in a university statement. “It is an honor to be part of a University where Catholic principles, robust debates, academic freedoms and diverse viewpoints are allowed to flourish. As much as I hope to impart as a lecturer, I know that I will learn a tremendous amount from Notre Dame’s remarkable students as we discuss the big challenges before our nation and collaborate on how best to address them.”

Ryan is one of three recent faculty appointments from the national political sphere. Former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Denis McDonough, former White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama, also teach at the school.

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Former House Speaker Paul Ryan thinks there’s a way for Democrats to defeat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election and it has to do with personality.
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Ryan spent 20 years representing Wisconsin in Congress, the last four as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

David Campbell, Notre Dame's Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and chair of the department of political science, said in a statement that the chance for students to learn from what the school calls "professor of the practice" is unique to the university.

“The study of political science is strengthened when students hear from people with real-world policy and political experience,” Campbell said. “Having former officials in the classroom provides important insights for students — an opportunity to put the theories we study to the test.”